Articulated connections of the aforementioned type having various designs and composed of metal or plastic are known in practice. These bushings are used in articulated connections between two elements which can rotate relative to one another, one of the elements generally being mounted on the hollow cylindrical section of the bushing and a collar separating the two elements from one another in the axial direction of a pivot pin.
To prevent excessive friction between the two rotatably connected elements, it is necessary to provide play between these elements, in particular for metallic surfaces of the elements which are moved with respect to one another.
For applications in which such axial play is undesired for avoiding rattling noise during operation or for ensuring a precise operational sequence, which is the case, for example, for an articulated connection or hinge between elements of a folding top mechanism of a convertible vehicle, a lubricant may be provided between the mutually rotatable parts, which, however, requires additional operating means and more intensive maintenance for the articulated connection.
It is also known in practice to use bushings made of self-lubricating plastic, Teflon, for example, between the surfaces of the articulated connection which are in rotary contact with one another in order to reduce the friction between the surfaces and simultaneously reduce the maintenance effort. A disadvantage of such plastic bushings, however, is that the flexibility of the joint is greatly increased in the articulated region, thereby impairing the precision of motion of, for example, the folding top mechanism.
DE 295 16 619 U1 discloses a hinge for the articulated connection of two arms of a folding rod assembly which for minimizing friction, maintaining operating characteristics, and ensuring increased rigidity of the articulated region has a bushing which is made of liquid crystal-polymer base material and is situated between a pivot pin and the arms of a folding rod assembly supported on the pivot pin. However, such a bushing ensures a play-free connection only for a limited time, since the liquid crystal-polymer base material wears out during operation.
Although a spring washer may be used to compensate for axial play resulting from such a bushing during operation, an additional component is necessary for the articulated connection.
An articulated connection is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,056 between two components of a folding top of a convertible vehicle in which bushings having an inclined collar are arranged on a pivot pin between the two components to be joined in order to achieve noise reduction. The available elasticity of the connection and the time period over which the damping properties can be maintained to the required extent are greatly limited in this design.
Examples of bushings used in articulated connections from other areas of technology are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,349, U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,631, DE 197 31 305 A1, DE 103 40 279 A1, DE 1 575 454 B and FR 2 120 604 A.